Farm wagon steering stabilizer

ABSTRACT

An elongated tension member having at least one elastic section. One end of the tension member is anchored to the center coupling pole of a four-wheel farm wagon and the other end of the tension member is connected to the outer end of the steering arm carried by one of the spindle assemblies of the front wheels of the wagon in order to apply a pull on the one steering arm to a first side of the wagon while applying a pull in the opposite direction on the rear end of the coupling pole. Further, a pull in the first direction is also applied to the forward end portion of the associated wagon tongue to which the tie rod for the front wheels of the wagon is secured and thus a thrust in the first direction is applied to the rear end of the towing vehicle to which the forward end of the wagon tongue is secured.

United States Patent Fisher FARM WAGON STEERING STABILIZER [72]Inventor: James C. Fisher, R.F.D. 1, She]- bina, Mo. 63468 [22] Filed:July 1, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 51,603

[52] US. Cl ..280/103, 280/94 [51] Int. Cl. ..B62d 13/04 [58] Field ofSearch ..280/103, 89, 94, 95, 98, 99, 280/480, 408, 443, 445, 488

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,566,565 9/1951 Hill..280/103 2,203,583 6/ 1940 Stoxen ..280/103 1,265,982 5/1918 Wilson..280/94 1,599,353 9/1926 Albin ..280/480 X 1,564,662 12/ 1925 Flemister..280/89 X 2,559,142 7/ l 951 Woodworth ..280/103 51 Oct. 3, 1972Primary Examiner-Kenneth H. Betts Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and HarveyB. Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT An elongated tension member having at leastone elastic section. One end of the tension member is anchored to thecenter coupling pole of a four-wheel farm wagon and the other end of thetension member is connected to the outer end of the steering arm carriedby one of the spindle assemblies of the front wheels of the wagon inorder to apply a pull on the one steering arm to a first side of thewagon while applying a pull in the opposite direction on the rear end ofthe coupling pole. Further, a pull in the first direction is alsoapplied to the forward end portion of the associated wagon tongue towhich the tie rod for the front wheels of the wagon is secured and thusa thrust in the first direction is applied to the rear end of the towingvehicle to which the forward end of the wagon tongue is secured.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures P'A'IENTEMM m2 3.695.628

Fig 62 James 6. Fisher .INVENTOR. I

FARM WAGON STEERING STABILIZER The stabilizer of the instant inventionhas been designed to provide a means whereby the tendency of afour-wheel farm wagon to whip from side to side while traveling over aroad at relatively highspeeds is substantially reduced or entirelyeliminated.

The stabilizer is effective to apply a pull on the front wheels of theassociated farm wagon to-steer the wheels to one side of the vehiclewhile at the same time exerting a pull on the coupling pole of the wagonto swing the rear end of the coupling pole to the other side of thewagon. Also, by applying a pull on the front wheels of the wagon tosteer the latter to the first side a thrust is applied to the same sideof the wagon on the front end of the wagon tongue and thus to the towingvehicle to which the wagon tongue is secured.

The main object of this invention is to provide a steering stabilizerfor a four-wheel farm trailer and operable to apply a straight forceupon the steering mechanism of the farm wagon to turn the front wheelsin one direction whereby this slight force to turn the wheels must becounteracted by the steering effect of the towing vehicle on the tongueof the wagon and thus any tendency of the wagon to whip from side toside while being trailed at high speeds is substantially eliminated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a steering stabilizerconstructed in a manner whereby it may be readily attached tosubstantially all types of fourwheel farm wagons.

Yet another object of vthis invention is to provide a steeringstabilizer including structural components enabling it to be operativelyassociated with a fourwheel farm wagon without the use of tools of aspecial nature.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a steeringstabilizer that may be utilized in conjunction with four-wheel farmwagons of various manufacture.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein isto provide a steering stabilizer in accordance with the precedingobjects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be ofsimple construction and easy to install so as to provide a device thatwill be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-freein operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the running gear of a conventional form offour-wheel farm wagon utilizing a coupling pole between the front andrear-axle assemblies of the wagon and with the steering stabilizer ofthe instant invention operatively associated with the steering arm ofthe left front spindle of the wagon and the forward end of the couplingpole;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of the left cornerportion of the farm wagon illustrating the manner in which the steeringstabilizer is operatively associated therewith;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the steering stabilizer; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of anchor to be utilizedin conjunction with one end of the elastic section of the tension memberwhich comprises the stabilizer.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10generally designates the running gear of a conventional four-wheel farmwagon. The running gear 10 includes a rear axle assembly 12 and a frontaxle assembly generally referred to by the reference numeral 14. Acoupling pole 16- extends between the rear and front axle assemblies 12and 14.

The front axle assembly includes a main axle beam 18 and a pair ofopposite end spindle assemblies 20 and 22 which are each oscillatablysupported from the corresponding end of the axle beam 18 for swingingabout a vertical axis. The spindle assemblies 20 and 22 includeforwardly extending steering arms 24 and 26 whose forward ends areinterconnected by means of a tie rod 28 and the center portion of thetie rod 28 is coupled to the rear mounting portion 30 of a towing tongueassembly referred to in general" by the reference numeral 32 as at 34.The mounting assembly 30 is oscillatably supported from the centralportion of the.axle beam 18 for swinging movement about an upstandingaxis as at 36 and the towing tongue 32 includes a forwardly projectingtow bar or pole 38 whose rear end is pivotally supported from themounting assembly 30 for swinging about a horizontal transverse axis asat 40. Of course, the forward end of the tow pole 38 is adapted to beuniversally secured to any suitable towing vehicle.

The foregoing comprises a description of a conventional form of wagonrunning gear.

The steering stabilizer assembly of the instant invention is generallyreferred to by the reference numeral 42 and includes a section of linkchain 44, an elongated tension or expansion spring 46 and an anchorplate 48. The link chain section 44 is encircled about the forward endof the coupling pole 16 as at 50 and one end of the expansion spring 46is provided with a hook 52 which is engaged with the link chain section44. The other end of the expansion spring-46 is provided with a hook 54and the hook 54 is engaged with an aperture 56 formed in one end of theanchor plate 48.

The end of the anchor plate 48 remote from the aperture 56 includes akeyhole opening 58 and the conventional fastener 60 utilized to securethe forward terminal end of the steering arm 24 to the left hand end ofthe tie rod 28 is passed through the keyhole opening 58.

When the steering stabilizer assembly is thus applied to the wagonrunning gear 10, the expansion spring 46 exerts a pull to the right onthe forward end of the left steering arm 24 so as to urge the wheels 62and 64 journaled from the spindle assemblies 20 and 22 to the right.Additionally, the tension of the expansion spring 46 exerts a pull onthe coupling pole l6 rearward of the vertical pivot axis'36 andtherefore tends to swing the rear end of the coupling pole l6 and thusthe rear end of the running gear 10 to the left.

The pull to the right on the forward end of the left steering arm 24 istransmitted to the mounting assembly 30 for the towing tongue assembly32 through the tie rod 28 and thus the forward end of the tow pole 38has a tendency to swing to the right. When the forward end of the towpole 38 is coupled to the rear end of a towing vehicle, the thrust tothe right applied to the tow pole 38 forward of the pivot axis 36 isalso transmitted to the towing vehicle. However, the towing vehicle hasof course sufficient weight supported from its rear end to provide thenecessary traction to resist sideways movement of its rearground-engaging wheels as the thrust to the right on the forward end ofthe tow pole 38 is comparatively slight. However, the towing vehicle, inresisting or overcoming this tendency to being shifted to the righttakes up substantially any slack in the various coupling joints of thesteering assembly of the running gear and thus there is substantially notendency for the running gear 10 to sway from side to side as it istowed at high speeds.

Although the running gear 10 has been illustrated and described hereinas having the tie rod 28 disposed forward of the axle beam 18, thesteering stabilizer assembly 42 is equally effective on farm wagonrunning gear provided with a tie rod disposed rearward of the front axlebeam. Further, the end of the expansion spring 46 remote from the linkchain section 44 may be readily engaged with either steering arm.

With attention now invited more specifically to F IG. 4 of the drawings,there may be seen a modified form of anchor plate referred to by thereference numeral 70 and which is similar to the anchor plate 48.However, the anchor plate 70 includes relatively laterally offsetopposite end portions 72 and 74 and it may be seen that the end portionor section 72 is provided with an aperture 76 corresponding to theaperture 56. Further, the end portion or section 74 is provided with akeyhole opening or slot 78 corresponding to the opening 58. Of course,the anchor plate 70 is designed to be utilized on wagon running gearincluding front axle steering connections which might cause interferencebetween the anchor plate 48 and the adjacent relatively movablecomponents of the steering assembly. In such instances, the anchor plate70, with its relatively offset end portions, has been found to be fullyoperative without any interference with the relatively movablecomponents of the farm wagon steering gear.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a four-wheel trailer chassis provided withdirigible front wheel spindles and a steering assembly includingsteering arm portions carried by said spindles and transverse tie rodmeans secured and extending between said arm portions with a forwardlyprojecting towing tongue including a rear end portion pivotally securedto the trailer chassis for oscillation about an upstanding axis andmeans connecting said tongue to said tie rod means for reciprocation ofthe latter in response to oscillation of the towing tongue, an anti-swayattachment including an elongated tension member provided with at leastone tensioned elastic section, first means anchoring one end of saidtension member to said chassis at a point adjacent the centerlinethereof and second means anchoring the other end of said tension memberto a portion of said steering assembly adjacent one of said spindleswhereby said tension member will exert a constant force on said steeringassembly to turn said spindles in one direction, said trailer chassisincluding a longitudinal center coupling means comprises an elongatedanchor plate having one end secured to one of said steering arm portionsat the point of connection of the corresponding end of the tie rod meanstherewith and the other end of said anchor plate has said other end ofsaid tension member anchored thereto.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said anchor plate includes akeyhole opening on one end thereof, said steering assembly including anupstanding fastener secured through one of said steering arm portionsand the corresponding end of said tie rod means, said fastener passingthrough said keyhole opening.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said anchor plate is substantiallyplanar.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein the opposite end portions of saidanchor plate are relatively offset and joined by an inclined centerportion of said anchor plate.

6. In combination with a vehicle chassis provided with dirigible frontwheel spindles and a steering as sembly including steering arm portionscarried by said spindles and transverse tie rod means secured andextending between said arm portions with a forwardly projecting towingtongue including a rear end portion pivotally secured to the trailerchassis for oscillation about an upstanding axis and means connectingsaid tongue to said tie rod means for reciprocation of the latter inresponse to oscillation of the towing tongue, anti-sway means includingan elongated tension member provided with at least one tensioned elasticsection, first means anchoring one end of said tension member to saidchassis at a point adjacent the centerline thereof and the second meansanchoring the other end of said tension member to a portion of saidsteering assembly adjacent one of said spindles whereby said tensionmember will exert a constant force on said steering assembly to turnsaid spindles in one direction, said vehicle chassis including alongitudinal member, said first means comprising a flexible memberencircled about said longitudinal chassis member adjacent the forwardend thereof and having said one end of said tension member anchoredthereto.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said second means comprisesanelongated anchor plate having one end secured to one of said steeringarm portions at the point of connection of the corresponding end of thetie rod means therewith and the other end of said anchor plate has saidother end of said tension member anchored thereto.

1. In combination with a four-wheel trailer chassis provided withdirigible front wheel spindles and a steering assembly includingsteering arm portions carried by said spindles and transverse tie rodmeans secured and extending between said arm portions with a forwardlyprojecting towing tongue including a rear end portion pivotally securedto the trailer chassis for oscillation about an upstanding axis andmeans connecting said tongue to said tie rod means for reciprocation ofthe latter in response to oscillation of the towing tongue, an anti-swayattachment including an elongated tension member provided with at leastone tensioned elastic section, first means anchoring one end of saidtension member to said chassis at a point adjacent the centerlinethereof and second means anchoring the other end of said tension memberto a portion of said steering assembly adjacent one of said spindleswhereby said tension member will exert a constant force on said steeringassembly to turn said spindles in one direction, said trailer chassisincluding a longitudinal center coupling pole extending between theopposite end portions of the wagon chassis, said first means comprisinga link chain section encircled about the forward end portion of saidcoupling pole and having said one end of said tension member anchored tosaid link chain section.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidsecond means comprIses an elongated anchor plate having one end securedto one of said steering arm portions at the point of connection of thecorresponding end of the tie rod means therewith and the other end ofsaid anchor plate has said other end of said tension member anchoredthereto.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said anchor plateincludes a keyhole opening on one end thereof, said steering assemblyincluding an upstanding fastener secured through one of said steeringarm portions and the corresponding end of said tie rod means, saidfastener passing through said keyhole opening.
 4. The combination ofclaim 3 wherein said anchor plate is substantially planar.
 5. Thecombination of claim 3 wherein the opposite end portions of said anchorplate are relatively offset and joined by an inclined center portion ofsaid anchor plate.
 6. In combination with a vehicle chassis providedwith dirigible front wheel spindles and a steering assembly includingsteering arm portions carried by said spindles and transverse tie rodmeans secured and extending between said arm portions with a forwardlyprojecting towing tongue including a rear end portion pivotally securedto the trailer chassis for oscillation about an upstanding axis andmeans connecting said tongue to said tie rod means for reciprocation ofthe latter in response to oscillation of the towing tongue, anti-swaymeans including an elongated tension member provided with at least onetensioned elastic section, first means anchoring one end of said tensionmember to said chassis at a point adjacent the centerline thereof andthe second means anchoring the other end of said tension member to aportion of said steering assembly adjacent one of said spindles wherebysaid tension member will exert a constant force on said steeringassembly to turn said spindles in one direction, said vehicle chassisincluding a longitudinal member, said first means comprising a flexiblemember encircled about said longitudinal chassis member adjacent theforward end thereof and having said one end of said tension memberanchored thereto.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said secondmeans comprises an elongated anchor plate having one end secured to oneof said steering arm portions at the point of connection of thecorresponding end of the tie rod means therewith and the other end ofsaid anchor plate has said other end of said tension member anchoredthereto.